Hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions in the food service industry typically serve various types of pureed foods. In general, pureed foods are food products that have a soft texture and require little or no chewing and can be easily swallowed. Conventional ice cream scoops have been used to serve these types of pureed food products. Ice cream scoops typically have a curved bowl section and a curved blade that travels along the inner surface of the bowl section to release the pureed food. Although conventional ice cream scoops have proven to be acceptable to dispense the pureed food from the bowl section, a major drawback is that each type of food that is served has the same spherical shape, which is oftentimes unattractive and unappealing to the patient or consumer.
Conventional molds have been used to allow pureed food products to be formed in various shapes to enhance the appearance of the food. However, the process of preparing such food products with conventional molds is both costly and labor intensive. For example, a separate mold must be provided. A separate utensil is typically required to transfer the pureed food from a food container into the mold. Another utensil may be required to remove the excess pureed food from the mold to create the desired shape. Since there is typically no way to remove pureed food that is at or near room temperature from the mold, the mold is typically placed in a freezer. Once frozen, the pureed food may then be removed from the mold with yet another utensil. Once the frozen food is removed from the mold, it must then be re-heated to a suitable temperature for consumption.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a convenient and cost effective apparatus and method for shaping and dispensing pureed food that overcomes the disadvantages described above.